Well, hanging under the wife's truck, right in the way of just about anything that goes on under there was a big fat 235-85-16 spare-tire, suspended by what may very well be the last surviving intact and entire original spare-tire hanger of it's vintage.

It was right in the way of progress today, so I spun down that one-sided wing-nut, and, with the wife holding it's weight with a pry-pole, removed the nut and then eased it to the ground.


The tire is a Michelin, brand-new with all the little mold fuzzys, with no evidence of ever having been on the ground, and with a 1990 date-code and plenty of dry-cracks; if it were bolted on in this 90* heat and driven over 20-MPH, the tread would probably sling off and take the mirror with it.


Now that it is out from under there and I had to also remove the long cradle, I doubt the spare will ever be carried under there again.

The cradle/hanger will probably reside hanging on the barn wall from thus forward.


Now, I gotta procure a BIAS 7.50X16 steer tire to replace that dangerous old/new radial.


Are there any others out there still hanging on the original old cradle ??

 

i couldnt even get the wing nut to turn on mine.. had to torch it out. id like to get my hands on another one to keep my spare out of the bed.

lots of good parts get ruined in the salt-belt.

 

Yeah, mine is still hanging under the bed. Can't swear that it's factory original but it doesn't look like it's spent much time on the ground in it's life and it's what was under there when I bought the truck years ago. My "spare" is in the bed and what's under the bed is my spare "spare".

 

Mine still has sticker on tire

 

When my dad bought the truck he told the dealership to keep their spare. It was something over 3 or 4 hundred dollars. He ended up putting a DMI bumper on it, so there's no room for a tire there anyway.

 

Got the cradle, but newer tire

 

My truck is 92 and I just picked it up a few weeks sheep l ago aced our had no spare.......but with thee cradle intact I put a tire in and cranked it into place. I love the original spare tire holder and I am glad to see the my truck still has

it.

 

Mine's under there, too. When I buy new tires I always stuff the best of the old set under there, so my spare is not 18 years old.

 

The original tire from when the truck was new ???

 

Mine is a goodyear wrangler. Looked really old. Actually when I bought the truck on the way home a tire failed and went egg shaped. I used the spare for maybe 2 months until I got new tires and then put it back under there. I also took it down for a while when working on the brakes a while back. Its a big pain to take it down and put it up thats why it rides in the bed for a long time after it comes down. I want to swap in the 2nd gen crank down set up at some point.

 

My '92 is all still there, probably never get it out without a torch though. My 93's is in much better shape, just like the rest of the truck.

 

Bought a 93 parts truck last year and had to torch the spare out from under the bed. Brand new goodyear wrangler. the rim was so rusted the I doubt it would have held the weight of the truck. Every thing looked original. Last month had a flat on my 90 and had to borrow a hack saw to cut the spare from it's mount under the bed.

 

The OEM Michelin that came with the truck when my dad bought it new is still under there. Surprisingly it has no age cracks and I had to use if for a couple of hundred miles last summer.

On the ground I'm running four 7-inch Ford steelies and I now have a fifth one to use as a spare (generously donated by a member of this forum). Next time I purchase tires I'm going to buy five and go to a 5-wheel rotation. This will ensure my spare is checked often and the tire dealer will have to struggle with that nasty spare tire carrier.

 

While its not the original tire, its the original wheel and yes its still under hanging in the cradle. I took two short lengths of 2x4" and made an L shape. I put the bottom of the L shape board on the pad of my floor jack and jack it up onto the cradle taking the weight off the wing nut to remove it. Once off I make sure I slather a good coat of Green Grease on the threads and it never seizes up.

 

I have never seen the factory set up. I would like to procure a hanger or make my own. If anyone has a picture I would sure appreciate it.